Your Promise To Me
by DigitalAlice
Summary: Sequel to 'My Promise To You' so please read that first. NOTE: If you're interested in NSFW Creek fics that I can't post here (MA rated stories violate the guidelines), PM me your email address to be notified when I write a smutty fic and receive a link to it! This site won't let me post links easily so please provide an email address you're happy for me to contact you on.
1. Chapter 1

Craig jolted awake before his head had a chance to hit the desk. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a full night's sleep without Tweek coming to wake him up. Only a week after their anniversary, Tweek had been roped into helping his dad at the coffee shop more, and the pressure it was causing him meant he was coming to Craig at all kinds of crazy hours.

Now, a little over a month later, Craig was struggling to keep awake in class. He yawned, glancing over at Tweek, who had completely reverted back to his twitchy, anxious self. He was hunched up over his desk, trying to do schoolwork and fill out invoices for coffee supplies at the same time.

The thing that frustrated Craig the most was that there was nothing he could do or say to make it easier for Tweek. He had to watch his boyfriend go from school straight to work and become more and more wound up, and just sit there knowing a panic-induced rant was coming later that night.

Their anniversary already seemed like such a long time ago.

At the end of the school day there was barely enough time to kiss Tweek goodbye before he was running off towards the coffee shop. Craig watched him go with a sigh, and then headed home. He might as well get an early night. He knew what was coming.

When he was shaken awake, the green glow of his alarm clock told him it was nearly 4 in the morning.

'Y-you gotta do something!' Tweek was already saying before Craig had turned on the lamp.

'Hi, Tweek,' Craig mumbled.

'I can't work this much. I can't test -agh!- test this much coffee. You gotta do something!'

'Like what?'

'Kill me!' Tweek shook Craig by the shoulders.

'Hey,' Craig grumbled, shoving Tweek off of him. 'Look, you're just tired. You know why?'

'I'm working too much?'

'No,' Craig complained. 'Well, yeah, but what I mean is, you should try actually sleeping at night.'

'I can't! I'm t-too stressed...'

'Well, you're stressing me out too,' Craig snapped, slumping back down on the bed.

'B-but-'

'Babe, please,' Craig groaned. 'You've been coming over every night for like three weeks.'

He turned his face into the pillow to block out the light. He didn't know how muach more of this he could take. He just wanted one decent night's rest...

'You're sick of me,' Tweek said quietly.

'No,' Craig mumbled against his pillow. 'But you're driving me a little crazy.'

Even in his sleepy state, something in his mind told him that wasn't the right thing to say. He sighed and sat up, but the damage was done. Tweek was standing by the door with his arms folded, looking down.

'You said you'd help me through all my anxiety and bad times.'

'I know,' Craig said, 'but at the time I didn't think you'd do this for three weeks straight! Go home and sleep.'

Fuck. That wasn't what he wanted to say. It was the exhaustion talking, not him. Why did he always have to say the wrong thing? Before he'd started dating Tweek, he had trouble communicating and rarely spoke his mind. Now, even after a year with Tweek, he was just getting used to letting someone in. His issue wasn't a lack of speech anymore, but instead how blunt and rude he sounded. And it made him mad because he could hear it once he spoke. It wasn't what he wanted. He wanted Tweek to feel better, and he really believed getting some sleep and not stressing would help. But saying that without sounding like a douchebag seemed impossible.

Besides, he knew it wasn't easy for Tweek to just 'stop stressing and sleep'. He shouldn't make it sound so easy.

It took him a moment to realise that Tweek was taking the promise ring off his finger.

'Tweek-'

'You broke your promise,' Tweek said quietly.

This was the first time Craig had seen Tweek calm in the last month. And it was for the worst possible reason.

Tweek put the ring down on the chest of drawers near the door, then turned to leave.

'Hey!' Craig exclaimed, staggering to his feet.

'If the promises you made don't mean anything,' Tweek said without turning around, 'then that ring doesn't mean anything either. It's just a ring.'

He closed the door behind him, leaving Craig with the ring and a heavy, empty silence.


	2. Chapter 2

Now he was exhausted for a different reason. The rest of the night he hadn't slept at all, and now he spent his Saturday morning lying on his bed with bags under his eyes, staring at the ceiling.

He thought about the last 13 months he'd spent with Tweek by his side. He remembered the first time they bit the bullet and went on an official date. They'd gone to a crappy diner for lunch where the milkshakes used cheap powder rather than ice cream. He could still remember how burned the fries were. They'd laughed about how shamefully terrible their first date had gone, and decided they weren't going to wait to try again. That same afternoon they had their second date, going to the Ice Cream Shoppe for proper milkshakes and freshly baked cookies. They had talked for hours, and had so much fun they ended up ordering seconds. After that it had become their regular date spot.

They never argued there. It was just the two of them, and they could let their guard down and laugh and tell each other secrets. It was where they shared their first kiss. Craig had been so nervous, but Tweek had been shaking and he knew he had to be calm and confident in order for Tweek to feel the same. Because whenever Craig lost his cool, Tweek did too. They relied on each other so much.

'Fuck,' Craig breathed, stifling a yawn. He held the promise ring up, inspecting it.

Shine.

That was the word he chose to have etched inside when they asked him how to customise it. He'd spent nearly twenty minutes considering it before he'd approached the counter. He had thought about having his name, or Tweek's. He thought about the words love, forever, eternity. But he didn't want to be cliché. He wanted something that meant something to them both. Craig loved astronomy and the stars, so the word came to him naturally. And didn't Tweek's eyes shine when he was excited or happy? Didn't he shine, every day?

When he picked that word, he felt like it was meant to be.

I'll be there to chase the storms away, and to point out the stars to you, and to point out that you shine brighter than all of them.

Wasn't that what he'd said?

You broke your promise.

'Fuck!' Craig rolled over and punched his pillow. He sat up and tucked the ring into the pocket of his jeans. Why didn't he think before he spoke?

'I love you,' Craig whispered to the empty room.

There was a knock at his door.

'Yeah?' Craig called out hoarsely.

His dad leaned around the door.

'Tweek here?'

'...No,' Craig said, hesitating. 'Why?'

'Mrs Tweak called. Tweek didn't go home last night. They thought he might have stayed over.'

'No,' Craig said, a tingle of panic in his stomach. 'He came over but we... we had a fight. I thought he went home.'

A grim expression came over his dad's face. He went downstairs and Craig followed him, watching him pick up the receiver.

'He's not here,' his dad said. 'Seems they had a falling out.'

Craig watched as his dad nodded and interjected with various 'uh-huh' remarks.

'Alright, will do. And you. Okay. Bye.'

He clicked the receiver down and looked at Craig.

'They're going to call round to a few more of your friends, and check out some places. But if they can't find him they'll have to call the police.'

'The police?' Craig asked. Wasn't that a bit serious? Nothing bad would have happened to Tweek, surely?

He felt every heavy heartbeat in his chest. Tweek was walking around in the middle of the night to get to Craig's house and back. It wasn't the safest thing to do. And Craig had sent him back out.

'Well,' his dad said, 'if you guys had a falling out, then he might be upset, and...'

'And what?' Craig asked.

'Well, it's not uncommon for kids your age to run away from home.'


	3. Chapter 3

The first place Craig checked was the ice cream parlour. It was probably because he'd been thinking about it earlier that morning, but he thought it had enough sentimental value that Tweek might have gone there. He checked their normal booth but it was empty, and the owner hadn't seen Tweek all day. Craig decided to skip out on checking the amusement park. There were plenty of locations that had sentimental attachments for them as a couple, but that was a place that Tweek didn't feel comfortable going to alone. Even if he was there, Craig would never find him in the queues of customers.

He checked the pet store, the school playground, the park, the lake. He couldn't find that mess of anxiety with blonde hair anywhere. He wanted to go banging on doors, checking with Stan and Kyle and Clyde and Cartman, but he had to trust that Tweek's parents were doing that.

He found himself outside of the coffee shop. It was closed for the first Saturday that he could remember. The lights were off, the door was locked, and a hasty hand-written sign promised that they'd be open again the next day.

Mr Tweak came from around the side of the building, keys jangling in his hand.

'Hi Craig,' he said with a forced smile. 'You haven't seen Tweek, have you?'

Craig shook his head, staring numbly at the sign.

'We had an argument last night.'

'I'm sorry to hear that,' Mr Tweak said, tucking his keys away. 'Can I ask what about?'

Craig clenched his fists.

'You.'

'Me?' Mr Tweak looked down at him in surprise.

'More than that, but... but you've been making Tweek work so much, and he's been so stressed...' Craig couldn't get angry at an adult the way he got angry at other kids, so he kept his voice calm. But the frustration and sadness he felt when he thought about how strained Tweek had been recently boiled inside of him regardless.

'He's been doing paperwork at school during class, and he's been testing so much coffee that he can hardly think straight. He comes to me every night not knowing how to cope with it. How can you ask that much of him?'

He didn't hear a reply, and when he looked up Mr Tweak was looking down at the sidewalk with a guilty face.

'I have been working him a bit hard,' he admitted.

'Sorry.' Craig looked back at the locked door. 'I can be too direct. That's my problem with Tweek, too.'

'I'm sure he appreciates your honesty, just like I do,' Mr Tweak said with a smile. 'He talks about you a lot. He thinks the world of you. Well, let me know if you hear from him. Please.'

Mr Tweak walked past him and away down the street.

Craig looked around. Where was his boyfriend? How could he be anywhere in this town without someone seeing him?

If anyone could find Tweek, it should be him. He should know him best. Where would he want to be if he was upset?

Oh, he thought glumly.

Craig's room. Or anywhere that Craig was. Which was exactly where Tweek had tried to go, until Craig had pushed him away.

'I love you,' Craig said, and the wind snatched the words away.

If he hadn't been so exhausted, Craig would have had the sense to use the Quiet Box to help Tweek. It was meant to be saved for those monster anxiety attacks when Tweek couldn't even speak, but it wasn't exclusively for that. After three weeks of stress and anxiety, Craig should have thought to use it. He had so many opportunities to go to their fort and grab it, and bring it into the house…

The fort. Craig took off down the street. He couldn't be, could he?


	4. Chapter 4

Craig's feet pounded heavily on the sidewalk as he raced back to his house and round to the back. He scrabbled up the hill and into the woods. He'd spent a lot of time here with his dad building the fort in the weeks up to his anniversary with Tweek. If Tweek was hiding away and didn't want to be found, the fort would be the ideal place. He and Tweek were the only ones that went there. It was their sanctuary from the rest of the world.

He knelt down by the closed door of the fort and tried to pull it open, but it was locked from the inside. Craig felt a surge of relief, because it meant Tweek was in there… but he also felt a crushing wave of disappointment that he had locked Craig out.

He tapped on the door gently.

'Tweek? It's Craig. Please let me in.'

Silence.

'Babe?' Craig's voice was quieter, more hesitant.

Still not a sound from inside.

'Baby?'

Craig sighed and sat with his back to the door.

'I know you're in there,' he said, staring at the sky. 'And I want you to know I'm sorry. I know I broke my promise. I said I'd always be there for you and be patient with you. You know better than anyone that I'm not perfect and I'm still learning how to not be an asshole all the time. But even when we're fighting like this, I want you to remember that I still love you more than anything in the world.'

He heard a faint shuffling from within the fort, and before Craig could sit up, the door unlatched and swung inwards. Craig toppled backwards with a yelp, his head landing on Tweek's lap. The blonde looked down at him with a tired, tear-stained face and a smile.

'I love you too, jerk.'

Tweek leaned down to kiss him, then shuffled back and helped Craig crawl into the fort with him. Craig turned and locked the door. The blankets were ruffled like they'd been slept in, and Cinnamon the Second was tucked close to Tweek's side.

'You've been in here all night?'

Tweek nodded, and Craig pulled him close.

'You must be freezing,' Craig scolded. He took off his hat and put it on Tweek's head, then shuffled out of his jacket and wrapped that around Tweek, too.

'Thanks.'

You, uh… heard my apology, right?'

Tweek nodded again, letting Craig hold onto him without any complaints.

'I'm sorry t-too,' he said quietly. 'I know I've been a pain the ass lately.'

'I don't mind. Never stop coming to see me when you need me, okay? It doesn't matter if it's every night for a year. If you need me, I really do want to be there.'

Craig took the promise ring from his pocket and held it out for Tweek to see.

'This isn't just a ring,' he said. 'Even if I screw up sometimes, it's still a symbol of how I feel about you. And it means that even if we're fighting, there's still a part of me with you so you aren't alone.'

Tweek took it from him with a small smile and slipped it back onto his hand.

'I know,' he said.

They sat quietly together while Craig texted his dad.

 _Please let Tweek's parents know he'll be home for dinner. I'm with him now, he's safe._

'You gotta stop working so hard, babe,' Craig said, tucking his phone away.

'I will. I'm nearly done.'

'Why are you even working so much?'

He felt Tweek's arms tighten around his waist. It was good to feel the warmth of his body against his again. It was good to just be close to him again.

'My dad helped me buy something, but I wanted to be the one to pay for it, so I was working off what I owed him.'

'What could you possibly need that much?'

Tweek sat up, reaching down to his own pockets. He pulled out a small white box with gold gilding.

'I wanted…ngh… I wanted you to have one too,' Tweek said, his hands shaking as he handed over the box. Craig opened it and inside was a ring. It was a thick, simple band of black metal, and as he turned it, it seemed to sparkle like little stars were trapped inside.

'It has obsidian in it, and it reminded me of space, so I thought it would be perfect for you.'

'Tweek…'

'If you don't like it, we can take it back and get another-'

'No!' Craig held the box close to his chest protectively. 'No, I love it.'

'I don't need to promise you that I'll love you forever, because you know I will,' Tweek said, taking the ring and sliding it onto Craig's wedding ring finger. 'But, I guess, I can promise to be less of a pain, maybe…'

Craig took Tweek's chin to tilt his face up. Tweek looked as exhausted as he was. And all of the stress and work had been for Craig.

'There's only one promise I want from you,' Craig said, taking Tweek's hand and running his fingers over the silver promise ring. 'Don't _ever_ take this off again. Ever. No matter how much we might be arguing, it still always has my promise to try. I'll never stop trying for you, Tweek. So don't ever take it off again.'

Tweek wrapped his arms around Craig's neck and held him tightly.

'I promise,' he whispered against Craig's ear. 'I promise.'


End file.
